Few months later

It was Saturday and of course, it was the perfect time for Sunburst to drop in for a visit at her house.

They read over magic books while they drank apple juice together. She was reading, and learning more about telekinesis, while Sunburst looked over ancient magic tricks that have been preformed over the years.

Eventually, she closed the book and yawned. "I'm getting bored." she said.

Sunburst turned to face her. "How can you be bored? Studying and learning the history of unicorn magic is exciting!" He continued reading again.

Starlight rolled her eyes. "Suit yourself."

She walked outside the room and entered the living room. She looked at the bookshelf that lay at the center wall of the room. It was filled with big, old, boring books. Then she looked at a box nearby that was filled with games.

She got an idea.

"Sunburst!" Starlight ran into the room. "I got a fun idea!"

He was quickly startled by her sudden excitement. "Oh, ok. What is it?"

"How about we play a quick game of Stack The Books? Not only is it fun, but it would help practice our telekinesis!"

Sunhurst titled his head in confusion. "But I thought we mastered telekinesis."

"On small things." She explained. "But these books are thick and big. And we never really carried big things a lot. Usually our parents do it for us."

Sunburst was thinking for a few seconds, but he nodded. "Sure. That could be fun."

The two foals exited the room and Sunburst looked at the bookshelf with wide eyes.

"We have to carry all of that?!" he said in disbelief.

"Not all of them. Just ones that are enough to reach the ceiling."

Sunburst gulped.

Starlight powered up her horn and lifted two or three books from the shelves and placed them on top of another. Sunburst did the same, but kept grabbing one book at a time. Together, and after maybe ten minutes, they finally stacked all of the books to the point where they almost touched the roof.

Sunburst painted while Starlight pranced in excitement. "It's so fun playing this game with you! I usually play it with my dad."

Sunburst now looked confused. "That's nice and all but... how do you play this game?"

"Come on Sunburst!" Starlight teased. "You never played this game before?"

He shook his head.

"Really..." Starlight pondered. She assumed that every filly knew this game. But she simply shrugged it off. "Well I don't mind teaching you, if that's ok."

"Be my guest." he said to her.

"Ok." Starlight clapped her hooves excitedly. "So, you have to take one book from this pile, and the goal is to not make the books fall of the ground. The pony who makes the books fall is the loser!"

"The books will fall on the floor?" Sunburst sounded nervous. "But what if we don't catch the books on time and wake your father up?"

Starlight was caught off guard by what he said. "Ok, one, we don't catch the books as they fall. It would be considered cheating. Second, my dad is a heavy sleeper, so we'll be fine."

"If you say so..." Sunburst now turned looked at the books. "Who goes first?"

"I will, since you can watch how it works." Starlight quickly grabbed a book from the pile, and it wobbled a little bit, but still standing.

"See? Its that simple."

"Oh, ok!" Sunburst now looked like he got the idea now. His light yellow aura grabbed another book and yanked it from the pile.

"Don't pull it like that!" Starlight warned him. They two foals looked up and saw the pile was dangerously close to falling down, but somehow, it didn't.

They both sighed in relief.

"Try pulling a little lighter." Starlight instructed. "Like this."

She pulled out a book and the tower seemed to shake just a little.

"Oh, so I do this." Sunburst copied what Starlight did and took another book lightly. But luck was not on their side, and it came crashing down in between her and the colt.

"But- what- I did what you did!" Sunburst stammered.

"Well, even if it looks safe, always have doubts." Starlight reminded him.

Sunburst stared at her. "I want to play again."

Starlight grinned and gave him a knowing look.

"What?"

"Loser has to pick up the books."

After 15 minutes, and following Starlight's instructions, he finally placed the final book on top of the tower. Starlight clapped her hooves as congrats. Sunburst sighed in exhaustion.

"And the winners always go first." Starlight said to him. And when Sunburst was ready, she grabbed a thick, book with a lime-green color. But when she pulled it out, the books suddenly gave way, and they were about to fall ontop of her. Starlight didn't expect or realize that the books were at her direction. Sunburst looked at the books in utter shock as they were about to crush her.

Instead of getting out of the way, Starlight was frozen in fear and braced herself for the books. She closed her eyes and she covered her face with her hooves.

...

She didn't feel the books.

Thinking that its safe, Starlight opened both of her eyes, and was surprised when she saw the books were being covered by Sunburst's aura. However, instead of setting them on the ground, Sunburst kept holding onto them and soon he levitated himself and all the books formed into a circle around him. Just then the barrier inside glowed into a bright light, which made Starlight shield her eyes.

The way the books were circling him and the way he glowed is like the sun, hence his name Sunburst. But what could this mean?

Afterwards, he quickly put all the books away in the shelf they were in at the start. Starlight stared at him in awe as he finally stopped levitating. Then a tiny light formed onto his hind leg. He turned and a cutie mark appeared onto his leg. It was a sun that sent out rays and had six blue and light blue stars.

Sunburst looked at his cutie mark in delight, and with an excited whinny, he trotted out of the room, and bumped Starlight as he went, completely ignoring her.

Confused by her friend's behaviour, Starlight watched as Sunburst was being congratulated by his parents, Stellar Flare and Sunspot, and a few ponies from the town. Sunspot carried his son with his aura and he carried their son to the house.

Starlight stared off, trying to process what just happened in front of her eyes. She heard the words "Celestia" and "magic school" from the ponies, and Starlight was no stranger to what they were saying and what they meant.

They're going to send him away.

Starlight couldn't help herself and she let out a few teardrops on the floor. She sadly walked back to the house. She went to her room and laid on her bed and began crying silently.

Her friend, her only friend, the only pony that wasn't scared of her, the only pony that she was closer to than ever (not counting Firelight and Silverflower), is now going to be sent away to magic school.

She should be happy, since he got his cutie mark, but how can she be happy if that cutie mark was the one thing that took him away from her?

Cutie mark.

Cutie mark.

Starlight repeated the word in her head. And slowly, she suddenly felt bitterness rise inside her. Normally she didn't feel this way, or want to feel it, after her dispute with Bunker, but this was different. Bunker didn't exactly take something important from her away. She got the note fixed and it looked like nothing happened to it. But his cutie mark took him away from her. Her closest friend.

This time, she welcomed the feeling.

Maybe I'm being too possessive. Starlight thought after thinking it through.

It took my best friend away. Now thanks to that stupid mark, I'll be alone again.

Starlight would now be alone in the school again. Sunburst coming into the lunchroom and sitting down with her was the one thing that kept her happy, and felt like she had a place. But now she will feel isolated. And forever shunned by the students. And she knows that no one would dare stand up for her.

Stupid cutie mark. Starlight's face formed in rage and she hid her face with her pillow, and now she was soaking it with tears from sadness and anger.

As of today, Starlight thought in her head. I used to love cutie marks. But now...

With her magic, she cracked a photo of her and Sunburst that was on her drawer.

That will change. For good.

Starlight would no longer be naive and foolish. And she now feared and despised the idea of making new friends, and now she despised something even greater.

Cutie marks.

Author's Note

Tried my best to capture Starlight's emotions on how she felt when Sunburst was sent away to magic school. More shall be explained in more chapters.